Highlassies defeat No. 2 Tyler

In a game that come down to the final second, the McLennan Highlassies defeated the No. 2 Tyler Lady Apaches 71-68 tonight in the annual MCC Classic.
 
McLennan dominated the first quarter, opening on a 9-0 run as they held Tyler scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of play. The Highlassies led 16-6 with 1:14 to play in the quarter and ended the period on a 7-0 run to take the 23-6 lead into the second period.
 
Mersadez Nephew added a pair of free throws for the Highlassies to start the second and push the lead to 19, 25-6. Tyler began to battle back with a 6-0 run to trim the lead to 13 with 7;43 to go in the second. McLennan's Mariona Garcia added an underhanded layup to make it 27-12. The Lady Apaches responded with an 8-0 run to pull within seven, 27-20. Tyler continued to battle and trimmed the McLennan advantage to 34-30 at halftime.
 
McLennan extended the lead to nine midway through the third but Tyler was able to trim it to six going into the final quarter, 53-47. The Highlassies held a five-point lead at 61-56 with 7:18 remaining in the game. A drive in the lane by Tyler's Nassarine William followed by a 3-pointer from the corner by Miah Thomas tied the game at 61 with 4:03 to go. The game would remain tied with 1:20 to play, 64-64. Nephew drained a 3-pointer from the elbow and the ensuing foul shot gave McLennan the four-point play and four-point lead, 68-64, less than 10 seconds later. Tyler didn't give up and trimmed the lead to one, 69-68, with 6.26 seconds to play. The Highlassies' Miannah Little drained the pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds to go following a Lady Apache foul to seal the win.
 
Mersadez Nephew led the Highlassies with 28 points and Brielle Dorsey added 12.

McLennan 71, Tyler 68
Tyler: Veonce Powell 6 2-5 18; Nassarine William 4 6-8 14; Tia Morgan 1 0-0 2; Nadechka Laccen 3 4-6 10; Shadiya Thomas 2 2-4 7; Trinittee Alexander 0 1-2 1; Taryn Wills 2 1-2 5; Deborah Ogayemi 5 1-2 11; Totals:23 19-29 68.
 
McLennan: Valisa Millhouse 1 0-0 2; Miannah Little 0 5-6 5; Demetrius Lewis 1 0-0 2;
Mersadez Nephew 6 14-15 28; Kinley Brown 3 0-0 7; Bailee St. Romain 4 1-1 9; Brielle Dorsey 4 4-5 12; Kai Finister 0 0-0 0; Mariona Garcia 3 0-0 6; Totals: 22 24-28 71.
 
3-pointers: Tyler 5 (Powell 4, Thomas 1), McLennan 3 (Nephew 2, Brown 1); Total fouls: Tyler 18, McLennan 24; Fouled out: Tyler (Laceen), McLennan (Nephew); Halftime score: McLennan 34, Tyler 30; Record: McLennan 2-1.